The real-life romance between writers Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West takes center stage in Chanya Button’s provocative period drama Vita & Virginia. Exploring sexuality and passion, desire and connection, the film features strong performances by Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki, and a script by Eileen Atkins that effectively incorporates the two literary legends’ own words.

There is much to love about Vita & Virginia, the new release directed by Chanya Button, and co-written by Button and actress Eileen Atkins. Atkins adapted the story from her successful stage play, in which she starred as famed writer Virginia Woolf opposite Vanessa Redgrave, who portrayed her lover, socialite and intellectual Vita Sackville-West.

Vita and Virginia and, especially, Gemma Arterton’s role of Vita Sackville-West, has the daunting task of naturally drawing comparisons with the brilliant 1990 BBC miniseries Portrait of a Marriage with Janet McTeer’s masterful embodiment of Sackville-West during her passionate romance with Violette Keppel (Cathryn Harrison). In the new film, Sackville-West has moved on from Violette and becomes enamored of fellow writer Virginia Woolf (Elizabeth Debicki).